The Saga Continues

Ripley's tail is broken. Not in the she's-fractured-a-bone-and-is-in-a-cast sort of way, but in a it's-busted-and-she-won't-lift-or-wag-it-and-looks-depressed sort of way. Some sort of sprain or other such soft tissue injury.

I spent about 2 hours waiting for my pup to been seen, in a roughly 100 sq. ft. waiting area with three other dogs and their owners (I spent about an hour of it on the floor). Well, if you can call the chihuahua puppy that weighed about 4 ounces a dog. Its owner brought it in to the ER because it fell off her bed onto the tile floor and "hurt itself." COME ON, people. Get a real pet. This....ratlet was almost put on the floor in the waiting room, until Ripley decided it looked like a chew toy and the owner scooped it back up into her little fleece handkerchief.

Huckleberry was a very sweet boy who had gotten into a fight and gotten his ear torn up. He was a real dog. We saw a dog come in who had just had a seizure, heard about a cat with a urinary tract blockage, and a golden retriever who'd had hives for two days, among many other ailments. Who knew the pet ER would be so crazy?

Finally it was Ripley's turn. The emergency room vet "nurse" needed to take her vitals. She tried to get Ripley to NOT sniff around in the very odoriforous room since she couldn't get a good respiratory baseline (well, duh - 12 thousand other DOGS had been in that room that day). Then she took her rectal temperature (a dog's normal body temperature is apparently around 100-102 degrees F and Ripley was 100.2). Ripley has gained about 8 lbs. since we got her in July and now weighs about 41 lbs, but still looks lean. Then the very nice doctor came in to muzzle her and poke and prod her tail. He essentially confirmed that she's an Australian Kelpie during my conversation with him! He decided she didn't need an X-ray and that it was highly unlikely anything was "broken" but that we should put her on some anti-inflammatory drugs and see if she

Jan. 5

....hmm, seems like the final part of this story somehow didn't get saved and I didn't notice until now. I need a copy editor.

So how does it end?

Ripley's been on a doggie NSAID for four days, and she's been getting a little better every day. It's been very cute how her tail's been perking up a tiny bit every day. She's pretty much back to normal, but she misses Kerriann. She's....clingy. It's the only way I can describe it. And I'm playing with her MORE than I EVER do normally, 'cause I got nothin' better to do. I've watched a lot of movies and TV in the past couple days, and I'm making a list of new ones that are playing now. If I see anything extraordinary, I'll let you all know.